What This Math Subscription Box is Really About!
How many times do you change out your centers each month? Do you change them out each week or every other week? Or do you wait to change them out at the end of each month? I change my centers out once a month, using a holiday or monthly theme. My centers have enough activities to last my students through the whole month because each week I rotate them through my center cards. I have 20 Literacy Centers, so it takes my students a whole month to get to all of them. Each student might get to my math center just twice in one month. My center rotation chart looks like this:
I’ve asked many teachers this question, and many of them said that centers are overwhelming, exhausting, unengaging, and not fun for them or their students, especially when they switch them out every week! Let’s face it… I would be exhausted too!
Then, I had an idea… why not create a math center box that the teachers could use for the whole month with no prep on their end? Brilliant! So, that was my vision for my Math Center Subscription Box. All the games, materials, and supplies would already be prepped and ready, and all the teacher had to do was set it up!
There are 4 games inside the box, and if you teach one game per week, that’s four weeks’ worth of different math games! And what’s so great about these games is that you can teach them one time, and your students will know how to do them for the rest of the year. All you need to do is switch out the templates and materials, but the game remains the same! Easy prep on you!
If you decide that you want to subscribe to the Math Center Box, you will get 6 boxes per year: Back to School Farmhouse, Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Ocean/Beach. All 6 boxes will have a different theme, but the games will remain the same so you don’t have to learn anything new!
This box is meant to feel thoughtful, like something that was curated with a purpose, not just thrown together. Every piece is being considered with the overwhelmed teacher on the other end in mind. When you open my Literacy Center box, I want you to feel relieved, inspired, and excited to set up your math center. And the best part is… it’s all ready to go and requires no prep from you!
So, what’s inside my Math Center Subscription Box? I’m going to do a rundown of all the games and what materials go with each game, and how you could set them up.
1.) BUMP
My students LOVE the game BUMP. It’s so easy and fun to teach! Inside the math box, you will find a BUMP game that is a Farmhouse Theme. It has red and white snap cubes and red dice to go with the barn. There is an insert inside the box that tells the materials and directions on how to play the game. Or, you can watch the video!
All you need is the BUMP mat, dice, 10 snap cubes of one color, and 10 snap cubes of a different color. You can teach this game at your teacher table and then, the following week, put it in your math center or math tubs as a rotation. Each math center box will have a different template to match the month and holiday.
You can also change out the snap cubes to match the holiday. For example, for October, you can use orange and black cubes, and for Christmas, you can use red and green cubes! When you switch out their materials, it feels like it’s a brand new game!
You can put this game in your math tubs during your math rotations, and your students can sit on the floor and play once you teach them the rules and how to play. It’s so fun to watch them!
2.) In and Out
I love In and Out because you can differentiate it depending on the level of your students. Again, you can teach it one time, and then add this game to your math tubs. All you need for this game are counters- plastic farm animals or animal erasers, a small Dixie cup or bowl, the In and Out Templates, and an Expo Marker.
There’s also an insert inside the box that tells how to play In and Out. The best part about this game is that you can change the sum at the top of the template to match the level of your students. If you teach kindergarten, then you could have them write 5; if you teach first or second grade, you can have them write 10-20 or 30. There’s no prep from you, and it’s so easy to differentiate!
3.) Fill the Barn: Friends of 10
This math game is particularly fun because the students are using silicone trays as a 10-frame! They are also using the Fill the Barn template, animal erasers, and an Expo marker. There are two different types of templates: the first one has the first addend of 10 already there, and the students have to write the unknown number that equals 10.
The second template has both addends empty, so your students have to use their prior knowledge to write both friends of 10. That’s why the silicone trays come in handy! The students can fill the trays with different numbers and then find out the missing addend. Again, you can teach this game one time and then switch out the silicone tray, templates, and easers to match your month and holiday!
4.) Addition & Subtraction Math Mats
These math mats are super fun and engaging-especially if you use plastic animals or candy as counters! You can teach this game once and then just switch out the templates and counters to match the month or holiday. This game also comes with addition and subtraction story problems for your higher readers.
All you need are the addition & subtraction math mats, counters, dice, story problem cards, and dice. You can use plastic dinosaurs, ocean animals, farm animals, insects, or candy such as candy corn, gumdrops, and Hershey’s Kisses. The students will build the story problem on their mat depending on whether they’re reading the questions or rolling the dice. Then, at the bottom, they will write their number sentence to match. This game comes with three different templates: 2-number addition, 3-number addition, and subtraction.
Let’s be real here: changing centers each week can feel exhausting. That’s why I wanted my centers to last a whole month! You teach them just one time and just switch out the materials, but the activities remain the same.
I kept thinking. What would it look like to create something that feels like it was created with you in mind? Something that shows up consistently and reminds you that someone actually put care into every detail?
That’s what this Math Center Box is all about. It’s for teachers who are stressed and overwhelmed with their centers, and who are constantly changing them every week.
So, you might be wondering, Kara, these are great and all, but how do I store them and set them up? Well, I’ve got some options for you!
As far as storing these games, I would use a rainbow cart. Label your cart with different math skills such as Addition, Subtraction, graphing, etc. These games will fit snugly inside the rainbow cart, but make sure to put this next to your teacher table for easy access throughout the year!
You can put these math games in your math center, so your students have a choice in what they want to play. I love to give my students choices because they take more ownership of their learning, and plus, they don’t get bored as fast. Just make sure to teach these games at your teacher table before you put them in your center so there is less confusion and fewer interruptions.
Last but certainly not least, you can use different colored tubs to put your math games inside. These tubs can be differentiated according to your students’ math level. You can use your math assessments to guide your math games, and color code your tubs. In my picture, the green tub is the below level, the red is the on level, and the yellow is the above level. You can put these math games inside the tubs according to your students’ needs. You can put a colored dot sticker on their desk and whatever color they have, that’s the colored tub that they need to play out of.
I hope I gave you lots of great ideas on how to use your math center box! If you’re interested in subscribing to my Math Center Box or Writing Center Box, click HERE. The box is $50.00 bi-monthly or $45.00 monthly with my Teacher Membership. I can’t wait for you to get started and start the year with less stress and no mess!
If you’re interested in checking out my Writing Center Subscription Box, click HERE to read about it!
